A Superior Court Judge on Monday denied a request by Los Angeles city officials to close the Frisky Kitty strip club in Tarzana for violating city zoning codes.
The city had been trying to close the club, claiming that it was too close to a residential area, thus in violation of a zoning ordinance that says adult entertainment establishments must be at least 500 feet away from residential areas, parks, schools, libraries, churches and other public buildings, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
Last month Judge Dzintra Janavs rejected the city’s request for a temporary restraining order to force the club to close. And today, the judge again rejected the city’s arguments that the club was in violation of city codes.
Club owner Jamal Haddad’s lawyer, Roger Jon Diamond said that the way the city measures the distance is flawed and biased against his client.
He argued that the way the city measures distances, the club is within 500 feet of a residential area, but under other cities’ methods of measurements, the club is actually further away than 500 feet.
But area Councilman Dennis Zine told the newspaper that the city’s zoning code protects the community from businesses that could have a negative impact on it.
The club had operated as a bikini bar in the 1990s until it went topless in 1998. But trouble soon started when the club went completely nude, forcing it to give up its liquor license.
At about that time, city officials told Haddad that the club was within 500 feet of some nearby apartments so the dancers were ordered to cover up with pasties and g-strings. But Haddad refused, saying the club was not in violation of the zoning ordinance, taking issue with the way the city measured the distance between the apartments and the club.
The club has operated without a business license ever since as it fought in court to overcome efforts to shut it down.
